Up to 30 percent of private and international schools in Saudi Arabia are expected to close down for operating out of buildings not originally constructed for a school.
The Ministry of Education has made it mandatory for all schools to register in the Tadaruj system through certified engineering offices by July 2, according to Education Journal Middle East.
The system will prohibit the registration of any school that currently operates in a building that wasn’t originally constructed to house a school.
Sara Namshan, an engineer at Tatweer Buildings Company said the Tadaruj system aims to improve the quality of education offered to students.
Tatweer will be in charge of inspecting the schools to determine the fitness of buildings. Each school has to register the building standards, which will then be evaluated by a special ministerial committee.
Tariq Al Harazi, head of private schools committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) noted that engineering teams assigned to evaluate the schools will have to be selected in a way that will be fair to the schools.
About 200 education leaders and experts met at the JCCI to discuss the new system, where investors expressed concern over the new requirement, stating that the regulation will restrict their activities.
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